Root reaching into Space
by Manshiro
Summary: A ME crossover with the Nasuverse with an AU humanity and a first contact a century before the canon one. This is rated M for violence and - because I will try to play the Nasuverse straight - detailed descriptions of dismemberment might appear.
1. Chapter 1

Author info(skip this if you aren't here because you followed me/my other stories):

I had horribly miscalculated the work I had to put into the last 8 months. I originally planned to continue writing my stories while studying, but that didn't really work out... I know where I want to go with Cycle of Hatred, but the work for my graduation thesis saps all my creativity for the actual fleshing out of the story. I am currently writing on the next chapter, but progress is terribly slow right now with me deleting and rewriting every line at least once which makes my originally slow speed in writing stuff into an agonizing torture.

Hopefully, I will finish my thesis soon which will give me a whole lot more of free time which should enable me to write the next chapter like I want it to be. This story here is mainly an outlet for pent up creativity and insanity, so I don't completely stop writing stuff. It was a lot easier to write than continuing CoH because the parts are largely disjunct, meaning I don't have to wreck my brain about continuity and making sense so much, and I could just write them whenever I found a little bit of time. As an example for how slow writing goes for me right now, the first four chapters of this stories took four months in total...  
Another short story I'll put up later on is the product of my Christmas holidays which I didn't want to publish yet because I wanted to finish the new chapter for CoH first... that didn't work that well either...

For those of you here because of my 12 kingdoms fic: It isn't (completely) dead, I have an almost finished chapter lying around, but am not content with it just yet.

* * *

AN: general Disclaimer for all chapters: I don't own Mass Effect or Fate/stay night, they are property of their respective owners.

Hello and welcome to my take on a Mass Effect crossover with Fate/stay night.  
This is an AU fic where things happen differently than they do in ME canon with the main point being the first contact happening much earlier and in a different way along with what changes for humanity result from this.

Story start:

* * *

**Prelude**

Humanity.

When did humans take the step that separated them from their animal brethren? Was it when the first ape used something as a tool? Intentionally created said tool from scratch to fit his needs?

Was is speech that made the difference? Writing? Clothing? The ability to wield fire?

In the end nobody knows at what point in time mankind broke free of the constraints of mother nature. There is only the irrefutable truth that, yes, there was a fundamental, existential difference between man and beast.

The first to know this truth was none other than mother nature herself, or "Gaia", the consciousness of our planet, how those who came to know of her existence refer to her. From that indefinite but undeniable point in time where the bipedal, hairless apes that would later refer to themselves as humans moved outside the area of her absolute rule, Gaia was aware of would come to pass in the following eons.

The most fitting description for her children was the fire they had bend to their will. Burning brightly, consuming everything around it to fuel its existence without regard, eventually even incinerating itself, leaving nothing behind. Gaia was almost immediately aware that humanity would poison the air, drain the soil, eradicate all other life, and in the end even kill the planet itself to survive and thrive even one moment longer, leaving nothing behind but a bare rock floating through the infinite emptiness of space. But they, as every other being on the surface of the blue planet, were children she had brought forth and even if it was such an abstract thing as the consciousness of a Celestial Body, no being that had the right to be classified as a mother of something would destroy their own offspring, even if it resulted in their own death.

Of course, as a parent, Gaia had to scold individuals that cause too much harm to itself and others, so she formed the Beast of Gaia, Primate Murder as her scalpel to cut out the few malignant ones and return their souls to the Root. A being solely made for killing humans, capable of ending their feeble lives by the thousands, but in the end still no threat to the continued prosperity of the entirety of humanity, nothing but a sophisticated scalpel.

The appearance of ORT proved to Gaia that humanity might one day reach a point where they would kill her and still continue to live on which was something she feared and couldn't allow for with her death every spawn of her would slowly begin to lose that, which enforces their concept of death as long as no new concept was forced onto them. She would do as the appearance of TYPE-Mercury had prophesied and call the other planets for help to grant her children their sleep if she would grow unable to do so.

But as with everything, the path is never set in stone. The infinite infinity of choices spiraling forth from the Root grow and intertwine the fates of all creation.

* * *

A part of it, yet often representing conflicting interests, a part of Gaia, Alaya, the shared will of humanity to continue existing, grew with humanities rise and the demise of the great nature spirits known as Gods, signaling the beginning of the Age of Man.

Being a part of Gaia yet separate from it, Alaya used similar methods to remove those who would put humanities prosperity in danger, yet more often than not relied on balancing the odds, empowering and nudging everyday men and women just enough to give them a fair chance at success. This was known as the Counter Force as opposed to the dirtier tool Alaya was forced to use on occasion, the Counter Guardians.

When everything had failed, mankind was in peril, and no mortal had been up to the task, the shared will of humanity would send her own Beasts. Beasts that would remove the threat no matter the cost.

Fortunately, in this facet of the ever changing Kaleidoscope, an nearly infinite amount of infinitesimally small coincidences and subtle encouraging events would lead the world onto a different path than the all-out fight between humanity and the representation of the Celestial Bodies. A path that would nonetheless be filled with hardship for the inhabitants of the blue planet.

* * *

The finest minds of their time had put all their knowledge together to catch a glimpse of what the future might bring. Not as one might think, using thaumaturgy to trick the foundations of reality, but rather making the possibly most educated in the history of humanity as a memorial to the beginning of the second millennium.

Their prognosis predicted that if mankind would not drastically change their ways in the next hundred years their planet would be damaged beyond repair. The continued use of fossil fuels would tip the world's delicate balance into a downward spiral that would eventually, after decades and centuries, turn Earth into a lifeless rock.

In many universes not many powerful people would have listened to this "prophecy" for it yielded them no immediate gain and solving the problems would take decades and enormous amounts of money. This would lead to their planet slowly dying and employing the other planet's help in eradicating all life on its surface.

But this is another branch springing forth from the Root.

Here, through the accumulation of small events induced by chance, the Counter Force and whatever other forces there might by, possibilities were realized, leaders and governments changed their minds and philosophies, people pressed for change, for a guaranty that tomorrow will come, and by a myriad of small happenings adding to one another, creating one big shift, the world was set onto a path that deviated from the eventual death of mother nature.

A path that would elevate humanity to the stars. Albeit earlier than they might have dreamed and certainly due to worse circumstances than anyone had wished.


	2. Chapter 2

Second chapter and straight onto good old Timline McInfodump:

* * *

**Timline 1**

2000 CE

The so called "Millennium Prophecy" is presented by a conglomerate of scientists consisting of leading researchers in their subject. This prognosis for the long-term development of earth's overall situation including politic outlooks, militaristic advancement, environmental changes and resource estimates lead to a radical change in the political landscape of all industrial countries, much to the disbelief of many historians and sociologists.

Protests around the globe along with unprecedented lobbying for the preservation of earth for future generations lead to many personal changes in several governments and a general disarmament along with successive rerouting of financial resources for peaceful purposes.

The USA along with the EU, Russia, China, India, South Korea, and Japan invest a total of over 4 trillion dollar over course the year into joint research projects pertaining energy production using solar energy or nuclear fusion, and energy storage technologies.

2002 CE

Construction on the first test fusion reactor, IFRiT, near Toulouse in France begins and is scheduled to be finished in 2008.

The efficiency of solar panels could be raised by 5% compared to 2 years prior.

No relevant advances in the department of energy storage have been achieved.

2004 CE

Relations between Russia, India and China improve to a degree where the formation of an economic union is tentatively being speculated about.

2007 CE

Unsatisfied with the global situation since the turn of the century and pressed by internal issues, mainly immense food shortages, threatening its stability, North Korea declares war on South Korea, resulting in the Fortnight War.

Initial casualties of a land mounted invasion are almost entirely on the North Korean side due to technological and strategical advantages. After a period of 4 days in which the invasion force of 1000000 men was reduced to a tenth of their strength, the North Korean army launched a naval offensive which was utterly destroyed by the combined navy of South Korea along with a US carrier stationed there for peacekeeping purposes, and the Japanese Navy. With the war practically lost on both land and sea, North Korea's dictator launched a nuclear warhead towards South Korea's capital, Seoul. Thankfully, it could be intercepted before impact and the contained radioactive material didn't spread out over a wide area and could be recovered mostly intact.

Nonetheless, this act elevated the war to a new stage where the United Nations mandated a swift subjugation of North Korea for fear of another nuclear strike, resulting in ballistic strikes against all possible launch sites and a swift rush of a coalition of South Korean, Chinese, Russian and Japanese forces sweeping the country and crushing any opposition. In the span of a fortnight after the start of hostilities, the North Korean army was completely destroyed and the regime's leader detained by the South Korean army, thus the name Fortnight War.

2008 CE

Construction on IFRiT is finished according to schedule and initial testing of the facility begins.

The instigators of the Fortnight War have to stand trial before the International Court of Justice for crimes against their people, and war crimes including the use of a nuclear weapon. They are found guilty in all points and sentenced to life in prison.

2009 CE

IFRiT produces first results in achieving stable nuclear fusion, creating more energy than used to sustain the reaction. The project is viewed as a huge success and promises a clean and efficient energy source.

Problems still exist with the resources needed for the construction of reactors based on IFRiT as the superconducting material needed to build reactors of this type can not be produced in large enough quantities and IFRiT alone used up 4 times the yearly output of the material. Further building of IFRiT-type reactors is postponed due to this problem, but research in optimizing efficiency along with fundamental research continues.

2011 CE

The Asian Union is founded and encompasses China, Russia and India along with several former Russian satellite states, and all countries in South East Asia. Created with the EU as an example the AU still consists of separate states, but are united under one flag and try to present a single front in relations with other countries. The AU can avoid some mistakes made by the EU since formation by learning from its history.

2013 CE

A revolutionary approach to cancer treatment by forcfully activating the mutated cells' apoptosis is presented. Development of medicine on this principle is projected to take around 10 years.

2015 CE

The development of new energy storage technology by making use of nanoscale particles to drastically improve preexisting battery technology allows for construction of electric cars on equal footing with gasoline cars.

2018 CE

10% of all cars are electric.

2021 CE

Research in high temperature superconductors leads to the discovery of a complex material capable of conducting electrical current loss-free up to a temperature of 108°C. Due to a easily scalable production process along with its ingredients being abundant, and a metal-like malleability, the material popularly known as "conductium" was justifiably hailed as a sort of holy grail by scientists.

The countries of Africa form a political union, the African League.

2022 CE

The advent of conductium solved several problems in several designs deemed inefficient or unfeasible at once, beginning with fusion reactors which could now be built, not only in the necessary quantities and cheaper, but also with significantly reduced the reactor dimensions, being smaller by a factor of ten at a similar energy output.

Using simple coils of conductium to generate magnetic fields offered a cheap and low maintenance way to store energy over long periods of time and makes high velocity travel via levitation possible.

Earth's population rises above ten billion.

After almost a decade of testing, medicine on the basis of the 2013CE published method for curing cancer is cleared for treatment of the general public. The combination of this treatment with previously known substances that stop aging at the cost of a rising carcinogenic risk by suppressing the proteins p53 and pRB and stopping the shortening of telomeres are hailed as the fountain of youth. Clinical studies on this mix show success in prolonging life when taken at an advanced age where some cells have already stopped dividing altogether, but over long periods leads to problems with the liver and kidneys in younger patients due to the increased amount of dead cells.

Including the above, the average human life expectancy for a newborn has risen to 150 years.

2022CE

The countries of North and South America form a loose economical Union to counterbalance the economic power of the AU and the sinking importance of oil.

2025 CE

The scientists Chang and Smith develop an economically feasible method of turning radioactive waste into less long-lived radioactive substances, making permanent disposal in old mines or similar unnecessary. Further research into big scale application of the process to clean contaminated land is made.

Hundreds of fusion reactors begin construction around the world with an estimated output big enough to render fossil fuels unnecessary for energy generation.

2028 CE

The amount of electrical cars has risen to 60% as their efficiency is higher than that of gasoline cars by now. Production of gasoline cars has stopped and the remaining 40% are predicted to vanish in the next 15 years.

2029 CE

Breakthroughs on the medical front allow for curing many hereditary ailments via prenatal gene therapy.

The efficiency of solar panels has been raised by further researcher to reach an 70% conversion rate from radiation energy to electrical energy.

2032 CE

Attempts at reversing the desertification near the southern border of the Sahara succeed, marking large scale reconstructive terraforming as potentially possible.

The first self sufficient car is built with enough energy capacity to last at least 1000 kilometers without refueling or sunlight. The installed solar panels are able to load the car's battery even at top speed as long as the sun hasn't sunken. Inductive coils in gas stations are able to fill the battery in the span of a minute.

2033 CE

Enough fusion reactors and solar parks have been built to render fossil fuels obsolete.

2035 CE

Plans for the construction of three space elevators around the equator are formed with the intent to connect them with each other and use them as a giant platform for solar panels and use the resulting ring around earth to build artificial living space. Likewise will they be used to mine near-Earth asteroids for resources such as rare metals and rare earths along with comets containing heavy water for use in fusion reactors. Eventual attempts at colonization or mining of other celestial bodies in the solar system are theorized about.

2038 CE

Giant active air filters are built around the world to slowly lower the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air down to their preindustrial level over the span of the rest of the century.

2042 CE

Construction on the space elevators begins in Central America, Central Africa, and South East Asia. Completion is planned for 2059 CE.

2045 CE

The Chang-Smith process is applied to decontaminate Chernobyl and the surrounding area, reducing the radiation and the amount of toxic substances such as plutonium to liveable conditions in the span of half a year.

2047 CE

Using the knowledge gained from decontaminating Chernobyl, work begins around the globe to clean up nuclear test sites and the cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

2050 CE

The first of the three space elevators reaches structural completion, still needing its interior. The gigantic counterweights attached to the far end of the elevators make extremely fast ascent speeds reaching 5000km/h possible which makes an ascent take around ten hours. Construction of the ring, spanning towards the other elevators begins, which are scheduled to reach completion by 2052 CE.

Using the space elevator, the harvest of asteroids orbiting earth begins, which are in turn used as raw materials for the space elevators.

2051 CE

One of Pluto's moons turns out to be device to facilitate interstellar travel as several spaceships appear in the solar system via the superstructure previously known as Charon.

Humanities history is irrevocably changed by the alien ships.


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviews:**

** Kinunatzs: they come into play in ch.04**

** Amatsumi: don't know, which fic you mean. I didn't base the chapter on anything. I was just trying to make a semi-realistic timeline describing what happens in the mundane world.**

* * *

**Discoveries**

Haruk Ab'Shal was not a happy Batarian. Rather the exact opposite was the case, to be accurate. Getting ordered to go do the closest thing to a suicide mission does that to you. A job that would almost certainly earn you no fame in public or rise in status if you succeeded and left you without backing when it went wrong, and if there was one thing the Batarian Hegemony was good at, it was blaming "pirates" to have acted on their own to avoid sanctions. He really wished he'd caught an eye infection, rather annoying if you have four of them, or something else and someone else would stand in his place, but sadly it was not to be.

So, as the commander of the small scouting vessel _Lorek's Shadow_ Haruk gave his XO a nonverbal signal to proceed with an act that could let his name make history. In an extremely bad way.

The activation of a dormant Mass Relay.

'I'll curse whoever was responsible for this plan.' he grimly thought as after a few touches on the holo-keyboard the superstructure on the big tactical screen in front of him began to glow with an ephemeral blue light and the relay's two rings began their lazy gyrations.

"_Go through that relay and find something worth taking."_ General Beruan had said those damning words like he sent them to go buy groceries from the shop next door.

As if it would ever be that easy.

At least High Command had pulled some strings and cordoned off this small border region of the terminus systems with the help of pirates under their control. This way they would have at least enough time to search for something on the other side and make it back before anyone noticed the activation. And if they had luck even longer so that the Hegemony could put their possible findings to use and make the mission worth the risk.

With the relay now working, the only thing that he had to do before they entered was to give an encouraging speech to his crew, so he pushed a key which started to broadcast his voice throughout his ship.

"Men, we have just violated one of Citadel's most cherished laws about the relays which will at the least earn us all a nice vacation in jail if we are found out.", he broadcast to his fleet. "at worst, we either have a trigger-happy Turian fleet, a multitude of Terminus ships with murder in their eyes, or a new species like the Rachni on our asses. We are not officially doing this in the name of the Hegemony and all evidence that we are anything but pirates has been destroyed, so we will be on our own when we are caught." He paused for a moment to let the situation sink in, before starting with the hopefully somewhat uplifting part of his speech.

"We risk our asses on this mission, so let's make sure we find something worth it and get back before anyone notices the relay. Depending on each and everyone of you and your hard work we can either suffer greatly or end up being heroes."

Solemn but determined looks were the result. What can you expect, when you have to do a shitty job, but at least his men would see this through with him. Killing the channel, the Batarian turned to his navigator.

"Set course for the relay and bring us wherever it leads."

With her crew's breath held in anticipation, the _Lorek's Shadow_ closed in on the giant core of eezo.

* * *

Elat was speechless.

A week ago his favorite plate had broken and he was certain that it had been a bad sign. The order his ship had received was proof of that he had thought. Activating a mass relay. With nothing more than a small scouting vessel. Sure, a lone, small ship is a lot harder to detect and denied than a whole fleet or even a cruiser, but going into unknown territory almost unarmed didn't exactly inspire confidence. As pilot he would have to ferry his comrades through a mass relay of which nobody knew what laid behind it and would have to get them out of there fast if things turned bad.

No pressure there. Not in the least.

The young Batarian was almost sure that this mission would be he his death sentence. Heck, he even wrote a will and letters to his parents when he got informed of their suicide drive through a new relay.

But now, he probably wouldn't need them.

Neither he nor any of his comrades could fully believe what they had found behind the relay.

First of all, they had arrived in a dense field of ice shards which had let their kinetic shields flare a bright blue.

After clearing this minefield of frozen water and taking scans of the mass relay, they had figured, with the help of a geologic VI they had aboard for scanning planets and asteroid for resources, that the relay on this side must have been enclosed in a layer of ice before their activation of its partner relay.

Next came long range scans to roughly chart the system they had been transported to. They had apparently arrived on the edge of the system in orbit of a small planet with what seemed to be an unusual plane of rotation.

The rest of the system was filled with 4 rocky planets and 4 gas giants, all in the same plane of rotation around a yellow star of moderate size.

The biggest of the gas giants, the brownish fifth planet of this system would probably allow for lucrative mining of Helium-3.

After closing in on the inner planets while taking more detailed scans of two of the gas giants, the crew of the _Lorek's Shadow_ noted, that they hadn't found any sign of eezo in the system which was bad from an economic point of view, but served to greatly reduce their anxiety about a second coming of the Rachni. After all, no civilization could achieve FTL without eezo, so chances were good that no advanced race lived in this system and they could just jump away if things got ugly.

The real surprise on the other hand had first come, when they had gotten past the red planet and closed in on the blue one.

Three enormous constructs stuck out from the planet, reaching far beyond the atmosphere, with protrusions on them sticking out sideways towards each other.

The first thought of Prothean ruins had been discarded almost immediately by the first scans, only to replace it with another shocking revelation. Whatever those giant poles were, they had power and were still under construction. Under construction by a new race if the design was something to go by.

No one on the ship dared to move or breathe as they waited for the scans, mostly passive and if not then as low powered ones as possible, to finish.

When the results appeared on the holo-screen, the crew cheered as one, from the cook over the technicians up to the commander himself. Elat could only stare down on the planet and rejoice.

They had found a new race. A new race that didn't use eezo yet as far as their scans showed.

And judging by preliminary scans, and estimations based on those, there were billions of this new race down on the blue garden world.

Billions without knowledge of the mass effect.

Billions with no means to escape their planet.

Billions outside the Citadel's sphere of interference.

Billions with primitive weapons that wouldn't be able to penetrate a kinetic barrier.

Billions of slaves for the Batarian Hegemony.

"Men," their commander raised his voice so that everyone could hear him which in turn caused them to quiet down. "this day will go down in history. We will go down in history. We are the courageous ones who took the risk and earned something unprecedented in Batarian history!

We are the first Batarians to discover a primitive alien race. All children for years to come will know our names as the ones who introduced a whole race of slaves into the Hegemony!"

Another round of cheers rang throughout the ship's body as their fears of unleashing something like the Rachni turned into imagination of the reward for their finding.

"Elat!" the captain called for him. "Bring us back home as fast as you can. We have a report to make!" he ordered.

Without further further ado the small ship vanished in a streak of blue light.

* * *

Gaia was positively surprised by her troublemaker children.

The arrival of Mercury's Ultimate One had caused her to worry about the future and assume that the worst case would someday come to pass, but recent happenings alleviated this worry to a certain degree.

Her children had found the way to create small, artificial suns and use them for their needs instead of what is left of their predecessors. Furthermore they had stopped poisoning her body and had begun to mend what they had destroyed before, living with her instead of at her cost.

This made the personification of the blue planet genuinely happy, for it meant that she and her children would continue to live on and intervention from the other celestial bodies wouldn't be necessary.

But ORT wouldn't leave yet. After all, humanity can have more than one change of mind, though she sincerely hoped it wouldn't have to come to that.

* * *

A crisis summit had been called started session barely an hour after the International Space Agency had triple checked the telemetry data by New Horizons 3 & 4, orbiting Pluto, as well as of a multitude of other probes around the solar system.

The heads of state of almost every country in the world were either bodily or virtually present at the UN headquarters where a spokesman of the ISA stood before them. Clearing his throat, the nervous looking man began his speech.

"Today at 13:42 UTC we started receiving data from research satellites around the planets Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, as well as from two probes in Pluto's orbit.

According to preliminary calculations, while assuming a certain scientific possibility, we could reconstruct the happenings responsible for the received data, starting with the recordings of New Horizons 3 & 4."

With a gesture the big screen behind him changed from the ISA logo to an image of Pluto. Another gesture later and the view zoomed in on an area slightly to the left of the dwarf planet, showing a slightly pixelated, brown and black sphere.

"This is Charon, the biggest "moon" of Pluto. Or at least it was until yesterday evening."

In accordance with the man's words, the zoomed in image changed, replacing Charon at first with a blue tinged glittering cloud and a small streak of blue light. That cloud in turn dispersed over the course of a couple of images, revealing a blue orb with a dark shadows around it.

"As you can see, a change in Charon's appearance is visible and it emits light in the visible spectrum. From the shadows on these images we have concluded, that whatever is responsible for the blue light is surrounded by some kind of structure we hypothesize to be artificial at this time, we call it Object X. Further analysis of Object X will commence when the debris of Charon's explosion has spread out further.

As reference for the other occurrences it needs to be said, that these pictures are time stamped the earliest of all following data."

The assembled politicians spoke in hushed tones at the mention of an artificial structure but didn't interrupt the speaker who continued his presentation with an overview of the solar system.

"This is a current map of our solar system with disproportional planets. You can see Pluto marked red with the time of the previously shown images. We will now add occurrences of a blue streak of light, similar to the one observed on the Pluto data, on the map in order of the data's time stamps."

The red line originating from Pluto went in a zigzagging line towards the sun, first stopping at Saturn, then at Jupiter, Mars, and then Earth where the line sprung back towards Pluto.

"At every location we could confirm a blue light similar to the one witnessed near Object X shortly after its activation. The only problem this data presents us is the following."

Next to each point where the red line changed direction, a red and a green colored time was displayed.

"The green time is the time it takes for light to travel the distance between the previous location and the red time shows the time difference between the occurrences of the blue light if you look at the time stamps.

As you can see, the red time is always significantly shorter than the green time. This leaves us with several possible explanations which I shall explain now."

The map of the solar system changed to a simple white sheet with bullet points.

"The first possibility is a simultaneous hack of all 27 stations which received the transmissions over the duration of several hours while timing the influx of data with the slightly different time needed for the signals to reach the stations due to their positions. We think that this possibility is highly improbable because we disconnected 3 stations around the world from the outside, woke up an old station that had been in disuse for nearly a decade, barely in time for the last transmission, and still received consistent data.

The second possibility is that the sensors of 41 probes around the solar system had a defect at almost the same time, regardless of age, year of production or maker. We also judge this scenario to be unlikely due to New Horizons 3&4 still sending images showing Object X.

Now we will discuss the possibilities that assume the data from our probes to be trustworthy which means that something moved through the solar system at a speed faster than the speed of light.

The third possibility is that the blue streaks of light are the result of Object X's activation. Points for this thesis is that the first blue streak coincidences with the activation. We can not rule out the possibility that Object X sent out tachyonic particles which somehow interacted with something near our probes, probably space dust near the planets, resulting in an emission of blue light. Contradicting or at least making this thesis unlikely is that the emissions did not occur in an order that would make sense for a spherical pulse and that we couldn't confirm similar occurrences in the asteroid belt or near the other planets which should have been the case as we we couldn't measure a significant decrease in intensity of the blue light dependent on the distance to Object X.

This leads us to the last possibility we want to propose. The data we have thus far on Object X shows a periodic and sharp variation in its intensity which is most probably the result of something passing between the luminescent part of Object X and our probes. The size of Object X along with the period of the intensity variation makes it highly improbable for whatever is passing in front of Object X to be freely orbiting it as a big enough Object capable of blocking out the emitted light would be too heavy to remain in the orbit we can determine it moves in.

Simply spoken, Object X has some kind of complex inner structure which leads to the conclusion that Object X is artificial.

If we analyze the blue emissions around the solar system on the pretense of alien existence capable of faster than light travel the non-random occurrences of the blue light along with its sudden recurrence at Object X after reaching Earth makes sense.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the ISA believes that today we were given proof that we're not alone out there."

Silence reigned supreme for a few moments before pandemonium broke out inside the chambers of the UN.

* * *

The news of intelligent alien life spread around the globe like a wildfire.

The peaceful majority Humanity celebrated.

"We are not alone! There is someone besides us out there!"

A small part feared.

"We have seen enough movies to see how this ends. It's always either the White House or the Eiffel Tower."

Two miniscule communities scoffed at the news and geared up.

"Non-humans/TYPEs threaten humanities continued existence."

* * *

AN: now that you've forced yourself to read up to this point: Rejoice, the next chapter contains a dose of actual plot!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Enjoy

* * *

**Invasion**

The majority had been wrong. Horribly so.

It had begun when the first ship appeared in Earth's orbit with a streak of blue light three days after the now so called Charon Incident. The ISA sent the first contact package they had made on the same principle as and by updating the golden plates packed onto the voyager probe and broadcasted it on every frequency.

Then a second and a third flash of blue light happened. Without stopping the flashes grew in numbers and soon there were hundreds of ships surrounding the blue planet.

An hour went by with the armada of alien ships just staying in the void of space while pictures of Earth, greetings by all peoples of the world and mathematical formula were sent.

Then the answer to humanity's try at communication came.

In the form of bombardment of military facilities around the globe. At the same time, the armada swept down on the planet like a flock of vultures.

* * *

This mission was the easiest he and most of his comrades ever had. Not even boarding a broken down Quarian freighter drifting through the void of space all alone would have been this easy.

Their orbital strike had taken out almost every anti-air capability this new race had with a couple of shots. The ground troops they faced used guns that apparently still used a chemical propellant which resulted in their bullets stopping harmlessly against their shields or leaving miniscule scratches on the paint job where some of the braver ones turned them of as a test of courage.

Really, it was almost too easy to be fun.

But seeing what looked like pink Asari quiver in fear and despair in front of their might was a feeling that many would, and most probably will, pay quite a hefty sum to experience. And there will probably a big demand for an Asari equivalent you can play with without worrying about their biotics.

'And pop goes another unruly slave' he thought as his round splattered the head of a human soldier.

* * *

Fear.

The head of the man to her right was vaporized the instant he had taken a peek around the corner. She and her neighbors had fled into the deepest part of the basement of their apartment complex but it didn't help.

Those four eyed monsters were coming. She had seen what they did to women and now that they were already this close, she could only tremble in fear. How long till it was her turn?

Her eyes fell on a toolbox in the corner of the room. A box cutter was in it.

'Not me.' were her thoughts as she slid out the blade.

Pain.

'Why me?' The girl had been happily celebrating her birthday with her friends and was about to blow out the candles then the earth trembled and the apartment she and her mother lived in collapsed. Now she was the only one alive. Her friends had been crushed by the ceiling, only red smears and things that made her want to vomit were left. Her mother had covered her using her body, but it hadn't helped.

She was pinned to the ground by an iron rod through her stomach while her mother had been hit through the heart. It hurt so much she wanted to cry out loud but the rod through her stomach and the weight of her mother didn't allow her to breathe.

Anger.

He had lost all of his family. His father, his mother and his little sister. He had just been in the next town to buy groceries in the mall. They had all just simply vanished along the nearby military base when it was evaporated from space, ground to paste by the collapse of their own house and the shockwave.

He had smashed the window of a shop selling decorative weapons. He would show it to those bastards.

Despair.

His squad had fallen. He was the last one holding the line against these monsters. A strange blue barrier stopped had stopped all of their shots. The aliens had simply advanced as though the fire from their rifles was nothing more than a light rain shower in summer, at most a bit annoying.

The rocket launcher had at least shown to be somehow effective, but they had long since run out of ammo for it. One by one his comrades had fallen and could only impotently fire at the four eyed aliens.

* * *

The aliens were the enemy.

There was no doubt in that anymore.

They attacked and destroyed every facility capable of launching surface to air missiles big enough to destroy anything bigger than a tank in their initial bombardment from space.

Now their ships had landed with minimal resistance, ground troops stood no chance as they had some strange form of shield that made our weapons completely ineffective.

We, the ones called radicals, had been right in our judgment.

So it is only fair that we are allowed to use the plan we put in motion in a case such as this.

They had destroyed every possibility of surface to air warfare and normal fighters were no use against enemies in orbit. But humanity has a man made "surface" they haven't attacked yet. A "surface" we have packed to the brim with all the conventional missiles and nuclear weapons we could get our hands on short notice, just in case this happens.

I can only imagine how wide those disgusting four eyes have widened when half of their fleet was bathed in fire, lighting the night sky below brighter than the sun at noon.

* * *

FEAR.

PAIN.

ANGER.

DESPAIR.

DEATH.

. .DEATH.

DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!DEATH!

They were crying out.

"We don't want this."

"Make them go away."

"Help us."

"Avenge us."

"Save us."

To many were dying. To fast to help. Still bound in that eternal struggle, no help could be rendered.

The Counter Force already worked, enabling some to achieve victory against the superior enemy forces, but it wasn't enough.

The Counter Force is by its nature a rather slow thing, much like a small trickle of water, able to cut through even the hardest stone with steady effort. With enough time even a normal man or women can be lifted up to the heights of the heroes of old given the need.

A decade and they could somehow achieve a tie or mutual destruction. A century and humanity would stomp a force of this size. But that was just the problem, there just wasn't enough time.

All help that could be was rendered, every helping hand extended, but with most of the power tied otherwise it just wouldn't be enough.

* * *

"Those damned SAVAGES!" the Batarian admiral shouted in a fit of rage.

This upstart race of two eyed monkeys had cost him half of his fleet including the dreadnought his brother commanded. All that with just the surprise attack of WMD fired from those giant spindly towers.

They had powered down their shields after destroying anything on the planet that seemed capable of launching something or firing into space. The towers didn't register as a relevant threat since they were still under construction and hadn't done anything for hours, even after they had started their invasion.

The attack had come at an unexpected time and with an unexpected amount of fire power. Who uses weapons of mass destruction which result in contamination on, or in the orbit of, your home planet, roasting everything unshielded on one half of the planet? And that amount must have been enough to scour the planet's surface clean several times over! Are the as crazy as the Krogan?

But he couldn't allow that from future slaves. Resistance, especially to the death, was something that was absolutely unsuited for slaves. So he would have to teach them their place.

Those towers were to big to casually destroy. If they fell on the planet it could possibly kill his own ground troops and neither he, nor his crew, nor any VI currently aboard could predict what the fall of such an enormous structure would cause. Sure, it would probably demoralize those pink Asari, but the consequences were a complete unknown. He wouldn't do that now that the towers had apparently fired whatever ammunition they held.

A known method would be a better way of disciplining them. Bombing their biggest cities to nothing should suffice as a first step by demoralizing them and hopefully destroying their chain of command. Without their organized resistance turning the entire planet into a giant Farm for slave production should be easy enough.

* * *

The aliens had retreated. Abandoned the territory they had easily conquered.

'Is it similar to the movies? Is there a virus or something on Earth that kills them and they left because of that?' Some of the defenders wondered.

Then fire rained from the sky and burned the earth.

New York, Washington, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong-Kong, Tokyo, Delhi, and many more cities were swept away by shock waves from tungsten projectiles impacting at relativistic speeds.

Hundreds of millions died from the secondary bombardment from space. Where the first one had been limited to military facilities and had had a measure of precision, this one had only one goal.

Maximal destruction.

* * *

She had been hurt.

Beings not of her or her siblings had arrived, began hunting her children, and hurt her body.

Not in the way her children had done so, out of ignorance or to ensure their survival. Those beings had done so out of spite, not liking that her children had took up weapons against them, fighting their adversary with their reckless, self consuming nature. Their armament were the artificial small suns whose scars on her body had been healed recently by her children.

She wouldn't stand for this any longer.

She had once resigned herself to die at the hands of her children if it was by their own choice with only the wish for them not to continue living on top of her corpse.

But that future had changed along with a change in her children. They had mastered their creation of artificial suns to lessen the burden they put on her. Put forth a big effort to mend what they had once destroyed. They had given her the hope to live together with her children in some sense of harmony.

But now those intruders dared to hurt herself and kill her children.

She wouldn't allow this. She would have been hard pressed to forgive one of her siblings for such a transgression at this point, but beings from beyond the great empty? Four eyed abominations born from the Celestial Body of another star?

They would not receive a speck of mercy from her.

A wordless call went forth, calling for her siblings. Different from the one she supposed would have been uttered on her deathbed. Not asking for a last favor.

No, this was a call for help. A call for action where she could not act.

A call to arms.

Silent answers were her reply; assurances of help, retaliation and the promise to prevent the repeat of such an invasion.

A second call was made by her.

This one was slightly different from the last one though with a similar goal. A call for peace. Peace between her and her adversary.

If she was to act in the fashion necessary to deflect this threat she would need more of the powers bound in the never ending struggle between her and the one born of her children.

Her opponent agreed eagerly, gaining more of the power bound was in its interests as much as it was in her own. Their battle was of no importance at the moment and had already lost most of it in the last few decades as the difference between them were steadily closed by humanity.

But her opponent wanted one thing. Her noninterference in what it was about to do concerning this extrasolar threat.

She could deal with that as long as the continued health of her body and her children was guaranteed.

Her opponent had no qualms with that.

So the collective consciousnesses of humanity and the planet decided to stop the millennia old struggle between the Earth's will to survive, and humanity's wish to prosper, regardless of the cost.

* * *

A soldier behind a barricade, surrounded by his fallen comrades.

A small girl crying under her mother's lifeless body.

A young man storming an alien squad with a stolen polearm.

A women looking into four-eyed face while holding a knife to her throat.

A mother searching for her children in the ruins of their home.

A man clawing through debris with bloody fingers to reach the gradually fading voice of his wife.

"We don't want this."

_What we want is..._

"Make them go away."

_...what we need is..._

"Help us."

_...a Protector..._

"Avenge us."

_...an Avenger..._

"Save us."

…_a Savior..._

**...a Hero.**

* * *

All around the world, from the smallest town to the biggest city, from the tip of the highest tower to the deepest dungeon, all humans could understand what ethereal extensions of the world voiced. What language one spoke made no difference in front of this message as it was delivered using a tongue that touches upon the Origin.

Everyone understood the voice in a way more intimate than even their own thoughts.

And it ordered them in the most primal way:

"Fight"

A simple word when written down or read, but so infinitely more expressive when spoken in the earliest language, conveying a multitude of concepts, feelings and more in a single word.

"Don't be afraid."

"Take up arms."

"You are not alone."

"Help is coming."

"You are the Help."

"Heroes are coming."

"You are the Hero."

All of those and more were conveyed with just that single word.

And then the voice echoed throughout the entirety of humanity again.

"with all of your power."

* * *

To those of the moonlit world that second sentence held infinitely more meaning than the first one. To fight was to walk with death, and those that traversed the moonlit darkness were always accompanied by it, from the moment they stepped on the blood soaked path of wonders.

No, the second told them what they had to do, or rather forced all but one into action, regardless of their wishes. For those who already faced the invaders this was the carte blanche to draw upon all of their abilities without caring about who witnessed their deeds. For those who wanted to avoid this, eradicating the unknown TYPEs as fast as possible was now their only choice. Those who held powers not easily unleashed lest they face an angry representative of the world saw their chance and employed them to battle the enemy and save humanity, averting an unpredicted invasion, and aiming to cut a path into the unreachable future.

The only thing all of them knew was, that with the amount of high profile people like the gracefully aged, but nonetheless capable Queen of the Clock Tower and her Legion flinging around mystical powers on a scale not seen since the setting of the age of gods, and less than inconspicuous magical defenses, such as a giant translucent dome above London or an imitation of the Four Holy Beasts in Kyoto, springing up around the world, keeping the secret of magecraft would most probably be a moot point by now.

* * *

The two Batarians only had a the time it took to blink four eyes to wonder about the sudden change in the girl in front of them. At first she had been shaking and holding a knife to her throat, probably to end her pitiful existence, then she went stock still.

A moment later there was only one Batarian alive, the other one had a box knife buried halfway up the hilt in one of his eyesockets.

Shots rang through the dimly lit basement followed by a gurgling voice fading into oblivion.

Minutes later a figure clad in a white summer dress with red bloodstains stumbled out of the entrance of the apartment building, one hand clutching a shot wound in her right leg, the other holding the rifle of the enemy she had strangled.

* * *

They had almost taken over the whole city when he appeared.

After turning around the corner of a block, he had just stood there, eyes closed, wearing some sort of blue, skintight suit and wielded some kind of long red staff. When his red eyes opened, he suddenly wasn't 30 meters in front of them anymore.

The first of them died without even noticing it.

The second lost his head before he had completely turned towards the enemy in their midst.

Every bullet they fired was deflected with the red spear and every time it was swung, one of them died.

Their grinning feral killer didn't even need a minute to slay all 27 of them, without mercy, without missing even once.

* * *

Projectiles continued to rain against his cover, unable to stop the enemies' advance. Using even just the smallest decline in enemy fire he fired back, doing his best to stop the aliens.

A single assault rifle singing the sound of resistance. Then a second. Then a third.

Where once had been only the remains of his brothers in arms now men, women, elderly and youths ducked behind the hastily erected barricades, firing upon the aliens with a fervor.

Stalled in their advance for the smallest moment the surrounding buildings came alive with several dozen "artillerymen" raining everything heavy they could find, ranging from bricks and toilets ripped from their places to fridges and computers, onto the attackers.

When the aliens' shields didn't protect them from any of the falling objects he and his new comrades changed tactics. If falling stuff works, and gunfire doesn't, they will just have to beat them the old fashioned way.

The sight the six Batarians came to face when they got up from the assault of falling kitchenware and sanitary facilities was a tide of the two-eyed inhabitants of this planet charging at them with the ferocity of a horde of Krogans.

Those hit by their fire just wouldn't go down and used their bodies to shield those coming behind them from further harm, closing the circle around them rapidly. Those too riddled with holes to advance were held up by their fellow chargers and used as meat shields. But rather than hold this against their comrades, they just stared at the Batarians, those capable of moving maximizing the area the shielded.

When the tide crashed against the Batarians the human shields threw themselves upon the aliens with the last of their power and held them in a death grip. Unable to shake off the humans who should by all means be dying, and with rifles designed not to penetrate their opponents, all they could do was despair as they were literally ripped apart.

* * *

A group of soldiers, entrenched in what used to be a dairy shop ran out of ammunition and the aliens began to close in on them while firing at their cover with seemingly unlimited ammunition when a war cry rang through the air.

"**AAAARLALALALAI!"**

Divine hooves plowed through tarmac as lighting sparked around wooden wheels as their foes were mowed down by a chariot of old, its Rider a bear of a man with fire red hair clad in leather armor.

* * *

Armed only with a decorative spear stolen from a shop against a group of armed aliens? He should have been afraid. He should be dead.

But he wasn't. His blood had sung. To fight, to kill, to avenge. There had been no room for fear. Only a single goal. Stop the aliens not matter the cost.

The fake spear in hand, not sharpened in the least, only pointy at the top due to laziness of the maker in rounding it off, he had run out of a narrow alley just as the aliens had passed it. With one quick stab the first brownish thing had a hole through its chest. Before the others had fully turned a swipe of the wooden shaft broke the neck of another one.

The first shots grazed his cheek, leaving behind a long gash, and costing him a piece of his ear. The four-eyed extraterrestrial tried to block his next stab with his weapon, but the spear, already stained red with the blood of the other alien struck true, piercing the enemy's heart. With his weapon still stuck in flesh he turned around to face the last alien which had already pointed its rifle at him.

He wouldn't make it in time. Getting his Lance free from the dead body would take to long. He could already see the alien's appendage pulling the trigger. In a second the contents of his head would be splattered on the asphalt.

The sound of an alien weapon firing later and the rifle about to end his life was tilted away from him just in time. Not wasting his chance he poured every ounce of his strength into ripping his spear free and turning that momentum into a swipe that met the alien's head sideways. The blunt blade of the spear bit through skin, bone, flesh and brain until it stopped more than halfway through.

Panting hard he pulled his weapon free and looked left to find his savior leaning against a building 50 meters down the road. Swinging his spear behind his back, a manner that somehow seemed natural, he flicked off most off the blood, leaving behind vein-like trails on the red stained pole. He made his way to white clad figure that slowly stood up, intent on continuing the fight together with her.

* * *

There shouldn't have been any artillery support those savages could make use of! Their orbital strikes and bombardments on their descent should have turned everything capable of putting up a fight into rubble!

But now something was wiping them out with high-grade weaponry!

Whatever ammunition was being used against them exploded with enough force to turn a whole junction and the surrounding buildings into a giant crater or somehow curved around their cover and pierced multiple of his men before exploding.

And no matter where he searched for the enemy, he could only make out the enemy spotter. Who wears a bright red outfi-

With a dull thud, the Batarian commander's head was pinned to the back of the wall by a straight two-handed sword.

* * *

Everyone in the city could could see it.

Motes of golden light rising from everywhere around them drew their eyes to the place where they did coalesce.

A small pinprick of blue, normally easy to overlook, but now unable to be missed, stood atop the tallest building in vicinity. The hearts of all those who saw the light soared as they instinctively understood its importance and meaning. With renewed vigor fought those who could while those who had already given up once more felt hope bloom inside their hearts and found the strength to rise once more.

In a brilliant flash of gold the alien's shuttles along with around half of their troops that had landed here vanished, cutting of their retreat.

* * *

At some point this mission had gone to hell.

Admiral Tarchik didn't know when exactly it was, but something he couldn't quite understand had happened.

Everything had went well until those two-eyed primitives had launched their ambush from the giant towers. Then, something must have changed.

His troops that until whose advance went without problem whatsoever, as everything the primitives could bring to bear was nothing in front of their technological superiority, was suddenly ground to a jarring halt. A race that had until now quivered in fear and run away for the most part, turned around

in an eery display of unison and counterattacked like a Krogan in blood rage, without regard to their own well being or that of their companions.

No, that would be slightly wrong. They sacrificed some of their own to kill an equal or bigger number of Batarians. And those sacrificed did so willingly like they were possessed.

And then it got worse when those... those... he couldn't describe them as anything other than monsters, appeared.

They looked for the most part just like the primitives, with some bizarrely muscular or otherwise strange beings mixed in. Almost all of them wielded weapons who only had the right to bide their remaining time before rotting to dust in museums. But despite what should have been, they were the stuff nightmares are made of.

Those monsters cut through his forces like wet paper with neither mercy nor a show of effort. Some of them simply were immune to everything his troops fired at them, others deflected bullets traveling at a fraction of the speed of light with their antique weapons, and then there were the truly horrible ones.

He still didn't know what manner of being those things were but the ones who just by speaking, and without the characteristic glow of biotics, made his men burst in flames, rained lightning on them, ripped them apart with unseen forces or forced them to attack each other while still aware of their own actions, were the worst ones.

As he thought frantically about how he could get the mission back on course - bombing them to submission apparently hadn't worked as well as he had expected - his communication officer informed him that one of the freighters at the outer edge of their formation had just exploded.

Before he could inquire further about it a second one had been sunk. Then a third and a fourth.

Shouting inside the CIC broke out as everyone worked to find out where the attacks had come from. Had they overlooked something on the surface or was it from those towers again?

His fleet was down to barely more than a third of its initial size when their attacker was determined.

It was some kind of strange oval spaceship, much to small to normally be a threat to even a frigate, but that didn't stop it from just ripping through their ships without being bothered by the fire that was now focused on it. It just shrugged of slugs holding energy equal to that of small nuclear warheads, the point defense lasers were just reflected and sometimes turned into friendly fire. Whatever it was, it was ripping their fleet to shreds and nothing they did stopped it, even ramming it hadn't worked!

With the numbers of his ground forces dwindling steadily, admiral Tarchik ordered his troops to retreat as fast as possible with those too slow being left behind. Cut your losses, return with what you have, and bring bigger guns next time was his line of thought.

Five minutes later and down to a forth of their initial numbers, the fleet engaged their FTL drives with the system's relay as their goal. Safely cruising on their way home, the Batarian crews tallied all the damages and casualties, adding even more depression to the already heavy atmosphere.

This should have been a simple, easy mission. Practically the space equivalent to picking a ripe fruit from a branch at breast height. And now most ships were destroyed and only 10% of the ones who left would return.

* * *

When the ships returned to sub-light speed to approach the mass relay, all their hopes were crushed.

Where once the gray rings of the relay rotated around the giant core of eezo, promising a way home, now an enormous red globe, several times the size of the relay, ominously hung in the void of space.

With just enough time to note the blocked path, a giant black fist smashed through their right flank, destroying 4 ships at once. A moment later their left flank exploded from what appeared to be a rain of cross shaped lights.

The ships in the front which tried to pierce through the red, foggy shroud around the mass relay, corroded away instantly, as if consumed by the cloud, when they came in contact with it.

Between the representative of one bereft of a moon, and those of the biggest and the ringed planet, the Batarian fleet ceased to exist in less than ten minutes.

* * *

They had lost millions over millions.

Cities reaching back hundreds of years back were replaced by big smoking craters.

The death from space caused several volcanoes to erupt, cloaking the blue planet in a gray blanket.

But they had won.

They had won and would rebuild.

Rebuild, prosper, advance, and...

...avenge.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: This one's a little short. The main reason for that is that I originally planned to make this another timeline chapter and wrote that last weekend, but it turned out too long and dry to be entertaining to read. So I wrote this small chapter instead. I hope you will like it.

* * *

Reviews:  
One problem I faced with some reviews was that they were in spanish. I can't read or speak it, so I can't answer them. If you want me to reply to your reviews, please write them in english.

I was surprised by the amount of positive feedback. That really makes this worth writing.  
I already answered some reviews in PMs that would take too much space here or go into spoiler territory.

**Incendie de Glace:**  
Recommendation taken to heart,only small chapter administered.

**RockLeeOmega**:  
One of the reasons I am so horrendously slow in writing stuff is that I always second guess the stuff I write, so it will somehow expertly in exchange for the snail like speed.**  
**

**L (Guest):  
**The golden lights were the result of Excalibur. I took that from the scene on the River from Fate Zero because it is absolutely epic.

**Krims0n:**  
Far-reaching consequences indeed. But there are already small changes to the verse before even that. After all, how would you like aliens setting up a research base on your planet?

**Nasufan (Guest):**  
What we really want to see is sending Gilgamesh to the Leviathans as a diplomat.

**Nevos:**  
It is fic containing the Nasuverse, general paranoia is practically a necessity. Every scrap of power is paid for with blood and effort, every short way out a monkey's paw, and if you are a normal human you have a worse survival rate than the average startrek redshirt.  
The Batarians just made the wrong choice to give everything on earth to be out for their blood instead of each others.

**Shashenka:**  
They won't have a hive mind in the individuality-less sense. On a small scale it will be realized artificially, but on a large scale it is still to undefined to do more than passively react to danger.

**KnightOfZaku:**  
Protect the whole galaxy and defeat the Reapers? No, both would be a little much alone, too much space to cover in too short time. If it is only the latter or if there is sufficient time...

**Amatsumi:**  
No, but Muv Luv/FSN sounds interesting too.

**brt99:**  
The unity was already on the way since humanity listened to prophecy of the year 2000, thought it would have taken a few more centuries. The invasion sped it up quite a bit.

**fredaoxyz:**  
Noble Phantasms are crystallized legends, so they can't be forged that easily, sadly. The origin bullets on the other hand are something that can be produced as long as you can find someone with the origin you want(Not as easy as it sounds, especially for double origins). There will be another RM-user, maybe two.  
At this point I'll just say that humanity has a different approach to battle than most Citadel races.

**Seneth:**  
The coherence of technology is the bane of the timeline chapter that I planned to be here originally. Too many facts and technology relying on each other made it too long. On the positive side, I do now posses a coherent timeline I can use.

**ThePizzaMan:**  
A flowing integration of pure-tech with magecraft, taking some of both and meshing it together in a way I think would make sense :)

**Mordalfus Grea:**  
I personally burn to write about the interaction between humanity and the geth. The first contact between the citadel proper will probably happen in the next chapter. And the important question shouldn't be how the Citadel will react to humanity, but how will humanity react to them.

**Kinunatzs:**  
Those are of course good but costly armors. They have multiple forms of FTL, teleportation is mainly used for short distances due to the cost. Alchemy is a very cool thing and materials without imperfections show very interesing properties ;)

* * *

With the least curtesy on my part done, here the next chapter:  
Enjoy

* * *

**Silent Debut**

_Comrades, fellow Humans, Friends._

_One hundred years ago we had to suffer an unimaginable violation at the hands of extrasolar life. The scars of that time, although faded, are still visible on both the surface of our beloved blue planet as well as in the hearts of all who bore witness to the attack. Even those who were born decades later can't say that they weren't affected by it._

_But scars signify one important thing._

_We are alive. We continue to live in spite of all that longed to do otherwise. We lived to turn bleeding wounds into scars. We lived to learn from them. We lived to sharpen our fangs._

_Since the first humans walked the earth, there always was something stronger out there. Lions, crocodiles, elephants, and many other animals were deadlier and more robust than humans. Humanity had but one thing it excelled at. To turn the past into strength to cut open a path to the future._

_If there is an insurmountable wall blocking our path we don't despair at the task. If there is an unbeatable enemy we don't roll over and accept death. Each and every impossibility shatters before humanity's greatest strength._

_This power was used in the past to wage war against nature and after we subdued it sufficiently, we waged war against each other. For thousands of years human blood soaked the dirt of battlefields, accompanied by broken weapons. Failure meant death and so humanity frantically developed better implements of death, better armor to prevent it._

_Like a spiral, infinitely growing bigger and better, humanity advanced step by step._

_And that will be the downfall of all those who wish us harm._

_They thought to wipe us out, but came short. We paid heavily, but as long as we, all of us, are not killed, humanity will continue on. But their tab won't leave them with enough for even a nail to shut their coffins._

_We are the spiral of advancement, never stopping, drilling through every limit. And they changed our gear._

_In the span of a century we went from barely sending a man into orbit of our planet to building a tower halfway to the moon. In the next century we went from a world in disarray and chaos with the remnants of former countries on their last breaths to a community spanning four lush worlds capable of traversing the big void between stars with practiced ease._

_And now, 30 years after we found a way to use the gate that unleashed hell on earth, we stand ready._

_So I do hereby declare:_

_Humanity, you have licked your wounds, learned from the past, and polished every fang into a peerless blade!_

_The steeds are saddled, their riders geared up!_

_Humanity, the time has come to get revenge for those scars!_

_Young and Old throw caution to the wind and set sail!_

_Humanity, cut those barring your way to a glorious future!_

_Today we go to war!_

Excerpt from a speech by Admiral Kirtsugu Emiya, 2150CE

* * *

It is the small things that can turn a day from bad to worse.

For Councilor Keel, this small thing was the ridiculously slow speed of the elevators. How much of her life had she wasted inside these things? It might be insignificant for the Asari, but there are fossils younger than some of them, so that was a moot point. For a Salarian, every moment was important and being unable to do something and just stand inside a damned elevator was torture on a good day.

Which today certainly wasn't. Her irritation was almost palpable, making her Spectre guard quite uncomfortable inside the small confines of the elevator cabin.

The opening of the door was accompanied by an almost inaudible sigh of relief of the Turian Spectre, and backward-jointed legs beginning a fast paced walk towards the private Council chambers.

Without once slowing down, the Dalatrass moved along the metal hallways, doors opening by themselves when she approached. The assortment of attendants and the occasional diplomat made sure to stay clear of her path, unwilling to become the target of barely suppressed irritation.

Who cares if she wasn't behaving in the most elegant and refined way? They had a problem bigger than any of those petty internal squabbles between each other.

INSERT LINE HERE

Inside the Council chambers sat the Asari Councilor Tevos and her Turian counterpart Batius, waiting for the last member of the Council. The Salarian had called for them to assemble as soon as possible, putting special emphasis on the urgency.

Both were unsure what this meeting would be about as Citadel space was peaceful as usual. The Eezo trade was flourishing without any shortages and there had been less pirate activity from the Terminus Systems. What would be important and pressing enough for the usually calm Salarian to call for them this hastily? This was worrying.

And her expression as she just stormed into the room didn't help alleviating those worries.

"We have a problem." the Dalatrass spoke with a voice that didn't manage to cover the speakers agitation. Sitting down, she stared at her colleagues, trying to imprint the severity of the situation on them.

How much would Tevos have given for those words to never leave anyone's mouth in her surroundings. They always foretold events that were uncomfortable at best and catastrophic at worst. Why couldn't it have been something nice like Keel wanting advice for a big party? A few nice Asari dancers and one or two bottles of fine alcohol to relieve the daily stress.

None of those lamentations showed on her face when the Asari Councilor proceeded to inquire about this 'problem'.

"What kind of problem, Keel?"

"The recent decrease in pirate activity. The STG has finally found a clue." With a few taps on her Omnitool, a hologram popped up between the three Councilors showing a map of the galaxy with several large circles near the Attican Traverse. "They previously uncovered that ships started vanishing without trace or wrecks in the Terminus Systems around a month ago. The ships shared no common points, everything from merchants to pirates, without regard for any alliances or feuds, all gone without even the ghost of a trace. Since the attacks were completely random the STG couldn't pick a vessel and wait for it to be attacked, so they monitored the Relays in hopes of correlating one or several ships with the disappearances." Pausing shortly on how to world her next sentence correctly, the Salarian continued. "The incidents overlap disturbingly well with another disturbing occurrence. The activity at Relay 299."

That set a new record in the Asari's mind for the time needed to completely ruin her day.

"Wasn't that the Relay opened by Batarian 'pirates' a century ago?" the Turian Councilor interrupted her thought process.

"Yes, 'pirates'. The beginning of their fall from grace, but don't let us digress." Tevos answered and continued with a clarification. She was already Councilor when that mess had happened after all.

"92 years ago, Relay 299 was activated by a group of Batarian pirates in a bid to find riches beyond it. They never returned. Every ship that has used the Relay to this day hasn't returned or even did as much as send a transmission upon their arrival on the other side in an eerily reminiscence of the infamous Omega Relay, although with less hopefuls trying their luck."

"Is what the official records say. The unofficial ones say a lot more about what really happened and why pirates would try their hand at being explorers.

The STG managed to dig up a pile of dirt big enough to bury an Elcor. Naturally the whole pirate thing was more of a front, their usual scapegoat tactic. But more worrying was the info regarding what was behind the Relay. Unknown to the public there was a ship that returned.

The ship that originally opened the Relay. And I fear Keel's further report will only make what they supposedly found on the other side a certainty instead of an unconfirmable myth."

With a slight grimace the Asari played the ball back to the almost distraught Dalatrass.

With an upward blink the Salarain acknowledged her colleagues incentive to continue. "This is what they found upon a week of stalking the Relay." A few holographic buttons later, the map of the galaxy changed to the blurry image of a ship. Tevos couldn't keep a sigh from escaping her lips.

"A new race beyond the Relay."

The three Councilors of the mightiest empire in the galaxy could only sit there for a moment and stare at the picture.

The Asari's mind raced through possible scenarios. Rachni was the knee-jerk reaction that came to mind first. Indiscriminate attacks, leaving nothing of their enemies behind. For now they seemed to concentrate on the surroundings of Relay 299, but they would probably soon expand their territory if experience held true.

But they still were outside of Citadel space. If they took any military action, the Terminus Systems would take it as a declaration of war. And what better situation is there for an invader than if his targets are destroying each other.

"We need to take a preemptive stance on this!" Batius proclaimed. "The Rachni and the Krogan turned into such a great threat to galactic peace because they chance to stomp them out had passed by the time we realized the problem! We should go through Relay 299 and conquer them or at least lay siege on the Relay to prevent them from expanding!"

Tevos answered with a force calmness only possible thanks to her many years as a politician. "You know, that we can't do either. Sending a fleet into the Terminus Systems will mean war. And that is the last thing we need in face of outside enemies."

"But if we don't, they will certainly build a bridgehead at Relay 299 and use it as a foothold to wage war against us while their homeworld is safe behind the bottleneck the Relay provides. They already proved capable of repelling incoming ships, what says they can't just replicate that at every Relay, cut off our worlds from each other and wage a galactic trench war against us. The losses would certainly be apocalyptic!"

"I agree with Tevos." Keel interrupted Batius' vigorous speech "A war with the Terminus Systems we can win if we run our economy ragged. Add a completely unknown species to that and the risks are unacceptable."

"Does one of you two have a plan the?" the Turian shot back agitatedly.

"As it stands, there are only two ways we can choose between." the Asari replied. "Either we wait until they are at war with the Terminus Systems in earnest and both sides have reduced each others numbers sufficiently for us to swoop in and defeat them. A bold plan, more akin to gambling than strategy, that relies on both to be of roughly the same strength. Failure could lead to terrible results for Council space.

Terminus fleets making use of hit and run tactics while withdrawing to their territory, protected from pursuit by new technology.

A new and aggressive race with the resources of the Terminus systems, also capable of blocking assaults through their Relays. Neither is a good result for us.

The other choice would be to try diplomatic contact. There might be the possibility of their aggression being some kind of misunderstanding. I think that it is the most sensible choice we can take at this moment."

Tevos was almost certain, that no amount of rhetoric finesse and logic could change Batius' opinion. He was simply to narrow-minded when it came to conflict, even for a Turian. But that was okay, they were a council of three and Keel was a reasonable Salarian. She surely would be susceptible to a solution that kept blood form being spilt and money from being spent, her experience with the amphibian race told her. And experience was something an Asari matriarch has in spades.

"If it fails it only costs us one or two ships and a diplomat. Better than sending a fleet into conflict with a complete unknown. I agree with Tevos." the Dalatrass voiced her opinion. Tevos inwardly patted her own shoulder: she still hasn't lost her touch.

Batius on the other hand was barely stopping himself from exploding if the erratic flaring of his mandibles was an indication. Roughly a minute of strained silence later, the Turian calmed down enough to answer.

"Disunity is not something the Council can show, so I will publicly agree with both of you, but I want to make sure that you remember that I was against this when it blows up in your face."

"Of course, Batius. We will note down your disagreement." the Asari then faced her Salarian colleague. "Can we count on the STG keep an eye on the Relay until we can send a delegation?"

"Consider it done, Tevos."

"Thank you Keel. If that has cleared up all the main problems, we should be on our way. Does one of you want to add something? If not, I would declare this meeting finished."

A solemn and a reluctant nod later, the three persons with the most power in the whole galaxy left the room, each on their way to deal with the disturbance in one way or another.

* * *

AN: Internet Cookies to those who either predict how the First Contact between the Citadel and humanity will turn out or why humanity is sneaking around.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Returning from writing my BA-thesis! This chapter is the timeline many of you requested. I tried to incorporate it in a little bit of story to make it fit better with the current flow and I hope you will like it.

* * *

**Sajuuk:**

Stuffing in that many different series and ending up with a coherent story is something I don't think I'd be able to do. I will borrow one thing or another from other series, but those are a few to many.

**Yinko:**

As a species is a little much to go from a small population of people capable of it, but they worked on it.

**Kudara:**

They discarded that idea because they still think that the Batarians aren't completely stupid and would only attack isolated transports of a race that can effectively choke-hold a Relay and not start a full on conquest of a planet.

**cryptozthunderlord:**

They have returned. Materializing a couple heroes in the flesh without limiting them abilities by stuffing them in class containers would take too much out of Gaia in the long run.

**Thepingman:  
**Amaziingly detailed review, thanks. The doctrine will of course change with different weapons.

**Abyss Phantom:  
**Because it's not the original Kiritsugu.

**Kinunatzs:**

The Nanohe-verse magic is a little bit too direct in its application in comparison to the Nasuverse. Hybrid tech? Of course.

**reality deviant:**

Well, what do you think of this way to get both into a future setting?

**The Hero named Villan:**

What is inside the body of a magus and surprisingly similar to nerves?

* * *

**White Hair and Short Temper**

An old face, marred by conflict and the ravages of time wrinkled up in distaste over the current situation. The rhythmic tapping of a cane on the metal floor accompanied her surprisingly fast gait through the intestines of the ship.

The moment their latest hunting party had crossed over to the other side of _Mass Relay_ – she still found Hell's Gate, the name it first got known as, a lot more fitting – they had been hailed by an alien ship. Immediately jumping back through the Relay, the crew reported being discovered along with the received data package.

Not a day later it had been published along with the circumstances.

That the public would get riled up by it was clear as day to everyone in high command. Seriously, who do they think they are?

Humanity had spent decades thinking of ingenious ways to open dialogue to alien lifeforms regardless of how they perceived the world around them. They even went as far as thinking about lifeforms that didn't have neither sight nor touch nor hearing.

Most of them were based on mathematical and logical relations that are by nature completely detached from the real world. Great scientists, philosophers and artists cooperated to create such messages for those in the great unknown to receive.

And the real aliens they met? They just assumed any aliens they would meet to use the same protocols and frequencies for communication as they did. An arrogance that would piss off enough people on its own, and they're knocking on our door with it.

But topping it with a cheesy 'We come in peace and want trade relations, bring us to your leader'-like message tacked on top of it really brought a not insignificant number of people to their boiling point.

Their catches had contained enough of the blue aliens and lizard people, Asari and Salarian as they call themselves, together with the four-eyes that a relationship between them was undeniable. And now they would just knock on humanity's door feigning ignorance?

She could only shake her head at that.

Originally, she would have liked their information gathering to continue undiscovered for at least a little while longer. Acquiring new ships and samples would turn more difficult without the mantle of obscurity, but the ones they had already acquired would probably suffice.

With the groundwork laid over the past century, interfacing their systems to the alien ships had been accomplished in less than a day and the data mining could begin. Up-to-date star charts and targeting solutions along with blueprints of the ships had been their reward so far.

Enough to work with strategy wise, but there is never something as too much information about your enemy.

Her musings were cut short as she reached the bulkhead of the bridge which opened automatically as she approached. Behind the crisscrossing steel plates was a room with several operator seats embedded in cavities in the ground and an elevated command stand. With grace befitting her status,

the aged woman moved to commander who was barking orders to his crew.

"How long till we depart, rear admiral?"

The bulky man turned around to face his guest and put a smile on his scarred face. "We just finished the final checks and are ready to depart as soon as we get the all clear from flight control, milady."

"Good work, Bennings. I will retire to my chambers now. Inform me, when we are about to arrive." she answered with a satisfied nod of her head and turned around.

"As you wish, Vice-Director." the rear-admiral answered and saluted along with the few crew members on the bridge. Their mission was precarious and as far as guests go, you couldn't go much higher in importance than the fairly ancient woman that had just left the room. Or easier said, it was an honor to participate in this mission.

* * *

With a swoosh a little more realistic than depicted in early science fiction series, the door to her cabin opened. Thankfully, she had been given a spacious cabin and had acquired a nice travel companion slash bodyguard when this trip had been decided.

Several plants to make the ship life more bearable, a bookshelf with classic and modern books and a small bar. It truly is rewarding, being one of the mightiest woman on Earth, she thought.

Sprawled out on a large couch in her room laid her companion leafing through page after page of history on a tablet, grumbling to himself from time to time. Seeing that he hadn't noticed her yet, she was content with watching while leaning against a wall near the entrance for a little bit.

* * *

2051 CE

Earth is invaded by an extrasolar species which arrived in the solar system via an artificial object in orbit of Pluto popularly named _Hell's Gate_ after the invasion.

The initial orbital bombardment of the aliens results in minimal casualties for such an attack, numbering around 5 million and consist of military personal or those unfortunate enough to live near military bases. The deaths attributable to the following assault by alien ground forces number around 8 million soldiers and civilians, not counting an estimated 2 million humans who were abducted.

A counterstrike against the alien spaceships in earth's orbit with nuclear weapons destroys approximately half the enemy fleet, puzzling military and science with absence of the same kind of shield observed to be worn by their infantry. The EMP caused by the detonation of 98% of all nuclear warheads available to humanity causes the destruction of any not shielded electronic appliance in South America, Central and South Africa, and the south of Australia. 340 million people die of acute radiation poisoning without treatment, 348 million die from cancerous tumors over the course of the next 5 years with another 460 million people contaminated, resulting in widespread infertility and malformations in newborn.

As a retaliation for the attack on their ships, the aliens bomb earth from orbit again, this time with much bigger destructive force and aimed to maximize the amount of civilian casualties.

The destruction of metropolises around the globe causes a staggering 2 billion deaths, mainly in China, India and America. Most of Europe's historical major cities as well as the entirety of Japan minus Tokyo miraculously survive the orbital onslaught without too much damage. This is later revealed to be caused by a wide variety of magical defenses erected by citizens of the moonlit world.

An additional effect of the bombardment is a small nuclear winter caused by the amount of dust in earth's atmosphere, resulting in bad harvests.

With most governments crippled due to destruction of their capital city including the core of their administrative abilities, severely limited ability to communicate due to infrastructural damage, an almost general failure of supply chains for essential goods, as well as the loss of nearly all conventional military forces, the world is plunged into a state of chaos. Without the internet and phone, banks around the world are unable to continue their operation and money practically loses its value overnight. People panic and start an unprecedented wave of plundering around the globe.

On the other hand, the several different magical associations around the world were faced with the reality of their disclosure to the general public as the threshold for what could be covered up had been overshot by several orders of magnitude. As they hadn't suffered significant losses during the invasion, the wonder weavers around the world all came to the same decision regarding the protection of their interests and set into motion a series of the most ambitious coup d'ètats in human history. Without regard for borders, their goal was wrestling power from the mundane populace in fear of their reaction to the unknown that was thaumaturgy.

The Clock Tower and the Sea of Estray cooperated in an unusual show of teamwork and swiftly took control of Central and West-Europe. The British Royal family as well as many old noble houses remaining throughout Europe, of whom the most were active magus housholds or had been at some point in time, supported this land grab with both manpower and physical resources. Order is quickly enforced in this amalgamation of countries by liberal application of violence and hypnotism. Reestablishment of normal life with most of its commodities such as secured food distribution, television followed by internet greatly reduces resistance against the new government on the sole principle of the first reports showing that the rest of the world is off much worse.

After securing their immediate surroundings, both associations lend their help to Atlas in its endeavor to assume control over the North of Africa which is hampered mostly by radical groups destabilizing the region through acts of terror. This is dealt with by hypnotizing suspects to divulge the location of hideouts, turn them into sleeper agents or as suicide bombers against their comrades.

Acts of terrorism cease roughly a month after that.

The Church seizes control of southern Europe, focused mainly around Italy, the south of France, Spain, and Greece, as well as most of Central and South America to protect its believers. Their takeover is a lot less bloody than that of the Magus Association due to the inherent trust of the populace in the authority the Church presents. Due to their widespread influence and personal they succeed in establishing order and disaster relief for those affected by the nuclear counterstrike. Control of the South American space elevator falls to the hands of the Church.

The assembly of countries under the reign of the pope calls itself _Holy Empire._

In the Middle East revolts continue and the local magic association fails in its attempt to unify the region, meeting heavy resistance from many different religious and social groups intent on preserving their segregation.

The African continent is hell on earth with too many dead to bury and still more following by the resulting pandemics spreading due to destruction of virtually all sanitary facilities. In the next 3 years the continent is practically deserted southwards of the Sahara due to death and emigration.

Famine and plague run rampant in the central and eastern parts of Asia to a lesser degree than in Africa, but still kill millions. China and India collapse without any functioning government.

The Japanese magical associations relocate the government to the old capital Kyoto where they enthrone the second eldest son of the killed emperor and appoint a new parliament from among their own ranks. They enter into a tentative alliance with the Magus Association, granting them continued ownership of their holdings in Japan in return for resources with the Tohsaka and Aozaki families serving as Liaison.

In the United States of America repelling Mexican refugees branding against the southern border with armed force by thrown together militias escalate into indiscriminate slaughters of those suspected to be of Hispanic origin. Radical nationalists seize this opportunity to try and cleanse the country of those they deem unworthy which leads to civil war.

2052CE

The eastern part of Europe up to the remains of Russia's capital is annexed by the Magus Association using a sizable amount of Homunculi manufactured by a group lead by the von Einzbern clan. Geared towards enduring the harsh subarctic and arctic climate, they mercilessly eradicate all resistance.

Th Magus Association gains control of the African space elevator.

The Magus Association dubs the domain under their control Magus Association Union and establishes its government as a parliamentarian meritocracy with the respective heads of the Clock Tower, Sea of Estray, and Atlas serving as head of state and the department head serving as members of parliament. Due to the general disinterest in all matters legislative there are no scheduled meetings of the parliament but it is assembled if two or more department heads want to bring forth a topic.

Citizens are granted roughly the same rights they had before with a couple of changes, mainly the reintroduction of duels as a legally binding method to settle arguments as well as the loss of all rights as a punishment for felonies. Offenders of the latter kind pose as the new source of material for research. After the gist of first research reports are published, this proves to be an extremely good deterrent.

Large scale reconstruction begins in Europe, South America and Japan.

With control over their internal state of affairs, the MAU, the Holy Empire and Japan try to find anything left behind by the aliens to secure and store it.

2053CE

Fighting continues in the Middle East with no end in sight. The local magical association is destroyed by a combined assault of several factions. A handful of survivors is able to flee with most of the association's research results. They search refugee in the theocratic Holy Empire.

Japan, after securing its borders and restoring its conventional military force conquers Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines to establish a secure route to the Asian space elevator and gains control of it.

Clock Tower researchers can validate and quantify a raise of 5% in the efficiency and potency of magecraft. The causes are under investigation.

2054CE

First reliable estimates of the current population of humanity are published. The invasion and the resulting chaos has reduced humanity to 4 billion, roughly a third of its previous numbers.

Japan conquers the completely devastated east of China and begins the development of a large range of agricultural robots to turn the newly acquired land into fertile soil.

After licking its comparatively light wounds for the past years, Canada invades the United States and puts a stop to the civil war. A government is reinstated and reconstruction begins. The Hispanic refugees that initially started the civil war are used as cheap workforce.

2055CE

Japan, the MAU and the Holy Empire hold the first official international conference since the invasion of earth. A treaty ensuring peace is ratified. Included is an agreement on general non-interference.

All three nations have recovered enough to be roughly where they had been before the invasion. This is mostly due to not having been hit as hard as other countries as well as a disregard for the costs, conscripting those without work while maintaining a steady supply of essentials which made quelling the miniscule amount of resistance easy.

The MAU starts decontamination of the African continent on a large scale to acquire more living space, though with the intention to use it mainly for agricultural and industrial purposes.

Completion is prognosticated to be reached in 15 years.

Japan deploys the first robots to its continental territories to transform the impact craters that had been major Chinese into farmland. The resources needed to build those robots have been mined from asteroids and brought to earth via the space elevator.

2056CE

The Middle East is mostly deserted due to emigration, famine, and conflict with many fleeing to the new developing country in the former India, the Asian Federation. It spans the east of Asia including most of China, India, Mongolia, and the east of Russia.

The influx of refugees and the still damaged infrastructure threaten to overwhelm the administrative capabilities of the young country.

First parts of Africa are decontaminated and the MAU orders agricultural robots from Japan.

The MAU establishes a special administration Zone with the offer to house Dead Apostles and supply them with blood in return for not spreading Vampirism and spending some of their time to help with MAU research. This offer is almost exclusively directed toward those Dead Apostles which turned themselves into their current state through the use of magecraft and could thus offer useful insight. Others were invited because of their value as research objects. Any Dead Apostles that were not invited or refused are hunted down with extreme prejudice.

The combination of magical and mundane research has found a correlation between the increase in efficiency of magecraft and the rising general belief in its existence. This expands upon the already known correlation between the increase in stability of a thaumaturgical Theory and how many users it has.

Dissemination of most generic knowledge concerning magecraft begins along with a systematic screening of the populace for magic circuits begins. Latter is done to create a catalog of all people capable of magecraft and stop usage of it from growing due to the diminishing effect this would have on its potency.

Effects are almost instant. With the previously vague knowledge that the supernatural existed changed to a scientific explanation about it coupled with a series of demonstrations, magi around the world were suddenly able to achieve feats that were impossible for them before and accomplish what they were used to with only a fraction of the effort. Magecraft is now significantly closer to what it was during the Age of Gods than in the past 200 years.

Faith in God grows immensely with factual evidence and knowledge of his miracles and the ability of his servants to enact them.

2057CE

Japan and the MAU continue their agricultural efforts. The Holy Empire uses South America as its breadbasket.

The almost complete automation of harvest, resource gathering, production and construction result in an overabundance, which enables the three superpowers to feed those left unemployed after the reconstruction finished. Energy problems are nonexistent due to remaining fusion reactors and newly installed solar panels, attached to the space elevators.

People are granted the right to an existential minimum without needing to work for it, but those who take advantage of this in an obvious way are often ostracized as everyone is encouraged to do some kind of work. As a result the service sector along with the research sector explode with new applications.

With their survival for the most secured, the public sets it eyes on a new goal.

Revenge.

2058CE

First results from researching the remains of alien technology are made public. A connection with one of the working computers could be established, but the analysis of the protocols and language used by the aliens is estimated to take years.

Both, ships and weapons, that could be recovered contained a previously unknown substance which showed the strange ability to affect the mass of surrounding objects when subjected to an electrical current. Flight capabilities of their ships and the functionality of the alien weaponry seem to rely on this substance, dubbed Extrasolarium, shortened to Exso, due to the radiation emitted by it not having been detected before. Continued research into the strange abilities of Extrasolarium is faced with a problem in the form of a only having miniscule amounts to work with.

The aliens themselves are a surprise for researchers, both mundane and mystic, since they share many physical traits with humans. Especially in comparison to what is known of the eldritch anatomy of their own neighbors inside the solar system.

The Holy Empire, MAU, and Japan hold a summit to discuss the future of the planet. A consensus is reached on the need to defend Earth against extrasolar threats beyond the current scope of being defended by the Ultimate Ones. Also, the proactive nature of Earth's defense is agreed upon unanimously.

A treaty outlining the workings of a Federation of all three countries is drafted and signed with the last point being a symbolic declaration of war:

"As long as even one still stands, never again shall Earth's skies burn."

The MAU and the Holy Empire initiate the project "Sixth time's the Charm" in response.

2059CE

The Gaian Union is formed. Several treaties addressing the differences in legislative matters are ratified, largely unifying the codes of law while retaining certain peculiarities of the countries.

Every citizen is allowed to live in a country of his choice and choose his occupation.

Many people immigrate between the three countries to benefit from their different lifestyles and mentality.

Those with ambition and talent seek their chance to ascend the social ladder in the meritocratic MAU where personal skill could open almost every door mixed with the thrill of a political dance in the higher echelons, where a wrong step can lead to a duel. The belief formerly held by the Magus Association pertaining the supremacy of houses with a long tradition had been broken over the course of the last half century by the current Vice Director, having succeeded Barthomeloi Lorelei -who wanted to concentrate more on hunting Dead Apostles- on account of having successfully recreated a large portion of the Second Magic, and her husband. A Magus from the far east with a linage reaching back around three centuries and a first generation Magus tiptoeing the accomplishment of a new Magic had ensured that even the Lords had to admit that everyone deserved at least one chance, though they still held steadfast in that it was also at most one chance.

Those fascinated by technology were drawn to the Islands under Japans control. Researching without the looming threat always present in the MAU appealed to many and those incompatible with the western thaumaturgic Systems tried their luck with eastern philosophies said to be fundamentally different.

Between those two competitive countries, the Holy Empire offered a more tranquil environment that catered to both those devout in faith and those with a gift for the arts. Without the oppressiveness earlier theocratic countries has displayed, the Holy Empire encouraged faith in its citizens and exalted those pious enough to be granted the gift to enact the Lord's miracles. Many cults whose faith was renewed by the factual proof of their gods in the form of divine spirits settled to the Holy Empire which views worship of gods creation as another way to worship the Lord and welcome them with open arms.

2060CE

The North American countries along with the Asian Federation and all regions currently without government are absorbed into the Gaian Union peacefully. Reconstruction and Modernization of the new member states begins.

A theory behind the application of Exso is completed and tested with some of the available Exso installed in completely human-made machinery. The barrier effect observed in alien ground troops is replicated in a simplistic, and unstable form.

2061CE

Statistical analysis answers the centuries old question about the non-hereditary nature of Magic Circuits. The usage of Prana or abundant ambient Mana near the forming embryo exponentially raises the probability of the child developing Magic Circuits. The amount and quality seem to correlate with those of their parents if they were Magi.

This is currently believed to be a result of ambient mystical energies hampering the world's ability to prevent irregularities like Magic Circuits from forming. After an announcement, several pairs volunteer to take part in a series of experiments to validate this theory.

2062CE

Reconstruction of North America finishes

The alien weapon technology is understood on a basic level and replicated in a simplistic design. Projectiles the size of a grain of sand are launched via electromagnetic fields, achieving extremely high velocities due to the mass changing effect of Extrasolarium.

Progress with the alien computer technology is made. Linguists still try to decipher the alien language by using one of the few working wrist-mounted devices.

2063CE

"Sixth time's the Charm" comes to fruition.

A disproportionate amount of newborns with Magic Circuits among the diversely chosen volunteers proves the existence of connection between prenatal Prana-exposure and the formation of Magic Circuits. It is noted, that the Magic Circuits in 5% of the children are specified for a certain purpose, making them Psychics.

2064CE  
The traditional concept of economy loses much of its importance in the face of overwhelming abundance in both material goods and services. Art and culture is produced by many of those who neither want to research or offer services of any kind. Manual labor has been taken over almost completely by machinery.

With the mystery of alchemy, any element can be transformed into a different element, making mining for rare earths which are only needed in trace amounts unnecessary. Since it suffers from the same limitation as all other magecraft, only a set amount can be transmutated in a given time interval, necessitating the mining of any material needed in bigger quantity such as iron or copper.

Magical Education is broadly available for all those blessed with Magic Circuits which still number less than a percent of the population.

Humanity focuses its efforts to reach the stars.

A magical institute founded by the remnant of the former Middle East magic association succeeds in modifying an ancient curse used to travel through sandstorms without being harmed to a possible defense against the alien weaponry.

2065CE

Alien protocols are deciphered; only knowledge of their language to interpret the now accessible data is still necessary, though that is projected to be significantly quickened by being able to interact with the alien computers.

2066CE

The alien language is deciphered to a degree where understanding can be gained from what alien data humanity posses.

The name of the alien race, "Batarians", as well as rudimentary information on Hell's Gate as some form of FTL facilitating machine can be recovered from the best preserved wrist mounted computer.

2067CE

Africa is completely decontaminated.

Humanity's population raises above 5 billion.

Attempts to build a mass accelerator design on the base of alien weaponry is declared a failure. Lack of Exso makes bigger ammunition a necessity to reach similar effects which takes away the advantage of quasi unlimited ammunition. This along with the higher costs and delicate electronics involved are the main reason why research in mass accelerator infantry weaponry is stopped.

Research in ship class weaponry is continued.

2072CE

With the help of thaumaturgy, matter with a negative energy density is created and stabilized for 258 seconds before decaying. This lays the groundwork for a faster-than-light-drive on the principle of an Alcubierre-warp-bubble.

Research into other methods of FTL travel continue due to the harmful side effects the Alcubierre-drive is projected to have.

The term "Citadel Council" is recovered from the alien data along with a few incomplete sentences of trivia describing it as some form of governmental body.

2073CE

Magecraft succeeds in applying the mystery of hovering and flight to large structures by fixing it at a certain gravitational pull, essentially floating on the surface of a level curve. The additional pull of mainly the sun and the moon cause instabilities at first but are soon fixed with the help of computers calculating the needed level to maintain stability at a certain height above earth in real time.

The combination with a technique previously used to achieve broom flight by female magi which uses Prana akin to an elastic band to propel the target to a designated anchor is considered as a possibility to construct space stations that can hover over any planet regardless of their velocity in relation to the planet.

2074CE

A probe is launched with its destination being the void beyond the outer rim of the solar system. The probe is supposed to arrive in five years and will be used to record the exit point of the first test drive of the Alcubierre-drive. It additionally contains a variety of mystical communicators to test their viability over large distances.

2076CE

The Eltnam family succeeds in connecting the brain of a homunculus to a computer and cut the connection again without lasting damage using their Mystic Code Etherlite.

Star maps can be reconstructed from the alien data depicting a network of Hell's Gates throughout the Galaxy.

Humanity fears for the possibility of being attacked by a galactic empire and throw themselves into research of defense with even more fervor.

A unified military force, the Gaian Military, is founded.

2077CE

Jewelcraft is determined to be the most efficient way of storing Prana in nonliving entities. The stability of the material as well as the possibility to remotely trigger the release of the contained Prana in the needed shape to actualize mysteries make Jewelcraft the best suited method for the combination of thaumaturgy and technology in terms of energy storage.

2079CE

The first experimental FTL-drive is tested using Prana stored inside jewels as fuel to manifest the needed exotic matter. The test run is successful in crossing a distance of ten lighthours in the span of 92 seconds, reaching an effective velocity of 391 times the speed of light.

As expected, the probe utilizing the FTL-drive suffered severe damage, with only the observation probe launched years earlier able to report the success. The flash resulting from the probe returning to subliminal speeds irreparably destroyed one of the observer probe's optical sensors and was visible from earth with telescopes.

Some magical means of communication aboard the observer probe proved capable of instant transmission of information, although an increase in the cost needed to establish and maintain a connection is noted.

With the feasibility of FTL-travel proven plans are made for exploring and securing the nearest star systems containing planets.

2081CE

The combination of puppetry magecraft along with an Etherlite based soul-machine interface makes the creation of a lifelike pseudo android possible. Though at the current moment only mostly random spasm are inducible, continued research is projected to attain further control of the puppet body.

2082CE

The second Alcubierre-FTL test is a success. Though the exit flash generated by this method of travel is a principal flaw and couldn't be eliminated, the integrity of the vessel itself could be upheld by using a strong bounded field to shield the interior. The necessary strength of the bounded field was achieved by using 108 runes, many of whom were only regained years prior.

The achieved speed could be raised to 462c.

The percentage of newborns with Magic Circuits exceeds 0.5%.

2084CE

The Eltnam developed Etherlite interface is accepted for normal medical treatment. Its main use is in the construction of lifelike prostheses that can be used by anyone regardless of thaumaturgic talent in opposition to earlier puppet body parts that have been in use since over a century ago.

Much of the available Exso is used in attempt to recreate the alien FTL-travel. The experiment is unsuccessful, scattering the Exso in the interstellar space behind the Kuiper belt, making recovery practically impossible.

2085CE

Weapon development stagnates due to inability of testing the weapons against real alien shields.

2087CE  
Large shipyards/robot factories are built on the ring connecting the space elevators.

The produced ships are fully automated giant claws, designed to latch onto asteroids in the asteroid belt and tow them to Earth. They incorporate the floating magecraft as a way to ascend through the gravitational well of the sun and pull themselves back towards Earth by fixing a metaphysical anchor on it before leaving.

Resources gained this way are primarily used to construct further factories in orbit.

An ammunition design capable of penetrating alien shields by astralizing the bullet for a split second after if first meets resistance is presented but can't be tested due to lack of Exso. The complicated process of fabricating the ammunition and the susceptibility to activation of the astralization at the slightest contact lead to it not being considered for widespread use.

2088CE

First manned FTL-travel is achieved. After tests declare the method to be safe for the traveler, the first attempt at long range travel is made. The ship named _Pioneer of the Stars_ reaches Alpha Centauri and returns safely after traveling for almost three days.

2090CE

The human population reaches 7 billion.

Probes around Pluto show occasional activity of Type Pluto with debris of clearly artificial origin leaving the red sphere. Earlier occurrences of this kind had been noted but the scattering parts couldn't be recovered due to the at that time giant distance between Earth and Pluto.

The collected debris shows traces of Exso which testifies its extrasolar origin, but is of a completely different design than that of the known Batarian ships. Two theories are discussed attributing the differences to either advancement or a possible different race.

Neither theory is perceived as a good thing for humanity.

Development of Defender class ships.

2093CE

Completion of two hundred shipyards theoretically capable of fabricating ships with a maximal size of 1000mx500mx300m. 80% of them are used to produce parts for space stations surrounding Earth which will serve as living space and as weapon platforms in the case of an attack.

A small percentage is used to construct an armada of Explorer class probes capable of one FTL-jump and FTL-communication which is sent to all systems surrounding the solar system.

The remaining shipyards are used to construct Defender class ships.

1% of all newborns posses Magic Circuits.

2094CE

Reports by Explorer probes indicate several systems that can be mined for resources as well as one habitable world orbiting the red dwarf Gliese 667 C.

Development of Harvester and Colonizer class ships.

2095CE

The magecraft to accomplish teleportation is uncovered. It allows for almost instant travel between two points without the need to cross the space in between by forcefully overlapping both points onto one metaphysical location and then momentarily opening a hole in the boundary between the two, turning both locations into a single one for the shortest moment. This is different from concepts like a wormhole in that it doesn't bend physical space, but breaks the laws of physics by doing the equivalent of turning two points on a sheet of paper into a single one without drawing a line connecting the dots or folding the paper. In the last step the property of the teleported thing is altered to "Belongs to the other side".

Teleportation between metaphysically well defined places that can be sympathized with is shown to be much easier than with an abstract place like a coordinate in empty space. The needed energy to achieve this feat rises proportionally with the distance that needs to be covered and with the space that is overlapped.

This method is unsuited for long range travel on the magnitude of interstellar travel due to its high prana cost.

Redesign of Defender and Harvester class ships to incorporate short range teleportation of up to one day of distance. Alcubierre-drive will be used to cross the interstellar void, dropping the ships just outside the outer rim of the system while teleportation will be used to cover the last stretch to the inside of the system. This combination is employed to avoid destroying sensible electronics inside the system with the exit flash.

Clonizer class ships don't need redesign since they are intended to be repurposed as bases once landed on the planet.

Humans fleet consists of 1200 Explorer drones and 200 Defender class ships along with 400 asteroid-towing Claw ships.

2098CE

The first AI created by using a quantum computing chip modeled after the human brain is developed. It gains self awareness after being allowed the usage of sensors and a robotic arm. It is named Asimov.

When Asimov voices the question whether it has a soul or not, it is found that Asimov does possess with similar qualities to the human one and is located inside the quantum computing chip. In contrast to the human soul though, Asimov's soul appears to lack a discrete shape, making it conform to any container it is put in without forcefully changing the container over time.

A new construction concept for the Alcubierre-drive using twelve encapsulated warp-bubbles raises the top speed of FTL-travel is to a staggering 4000c, shortening the round trip to Alpha Centauri three days to 10 hours.

First Colonizer ships arrive on the planet Gliese 677Cc and it is officially renamed to new Gaia. The planet is covered by two great oceans and vast stretches of a primitive moss like plant. In comparison to Earth, New Gaia is mostly flat with the biggest measured elevation barely reaching a few hundred meters. The atmosphere contain slightly more carbon dioxide than Earths which in combination with the uniformly temperate climate makes it perfect to grow crops. Due to a year on New Gaia being only 28 days on earth there are practically no seasons.

The initial population is a measly 3'000 technicians supervising the agricultural development of the new world.

2100CE

Laws securing AI rights similar to human rights are passed.

2% of all newborns possess Magic Circuits

2102CE

Emigration class ships are designed and start production. Their focus lies on transporting many humans to the new colony while serving as permanent living space once landed.

2104CE

2 million people inhabit New Gaia.

The AI Touko is transplanted into a puppet body and connected to it via Etherlite connection. The result is indistinguishable from humans without in depth examination.

2105CE

Explorer probe 143 reports Exso radiation during an in depth scan of the 4 planet of the system. A research vessel is dispatched and the remains of a spaceship are discovered. Dating methods estimate an age of over hundred thousand years. A small amount of Exso is secured.

2106CE

The acquired Exso is used to conduct a variety of weapon test against the alien infantry shields. They are unable to block direct physical attacks with melee weapons, but stop every mundane infantry projectile weapon. The only guns to successfully collapse an alien shield are the heaviest anti-material rifles. Mounted Gatling guns proved to collapse alien shields by pure amount of ammunition expended, but are to unwieldy for infantry deployment.

Weapon development picks up momentum again.

2109CE

Two new habitable worlds, Avalon and Eden are discovered. Colonization begins. The population of New Gaia reaches 30 million.

2110CE

The Vice Director of the Clock Tower, through research into the creation of two certain artifacts, succeeds in creating two simplified implementations.

One is the fixation of a microscopic hole into a parallel universe containing only antimatter. This is used to build antimatter reactors which are vastly superior to the normally used fusion reactors in terms of energy output.

The second application is a costly and large scale ritual to achieve truly instant transportation without limitation on range. The size needed to conduct the ritual as well as the exponentially rising costs with increasing transported volume make this technique unsuitable to be by used by ships. Copying the alien idea, plans for a space station both serving as a generator for the needed Prana and with the necessary size to enact the ritual are drafted.

Both applications are very hard to implement and have to be manufactured by the Vice Director herself, severely limiting their possible numbers.

2111CE

4% of all newborns possess Magic Circuits.

2012CE

Redesign of the Alcubierre-drive with even more warp-bubbles allows for a further increase in speed, achieving 10000c.

2113CE

Construction of Kaleidoscope-1 at Lagrange 3 is almost finished.

The refueling with ambient Prana and its storage in crystals, like it is used with space ships, is not possible for the superstructure since space is completely devoid of Mana. Ships solve this problem by recharging in the upper layers of a planet's atmosphere or being refueled by another ship, but neither variant is feasible for Kaleidoscope-1. The critical component is scheduled to be acquired in the net year.

2114CE

A large scale ritual is used to create a set of Prana Reactors, metaphysical parts capable of supplying large amounts of Prana quasi infinitely by the weight of the mystery behind their existence alone. They are only quasi infinite since their existence will be eroded away by the world with time, but the time until that point is measured in eons. One of those reactors is installed in Kaleidoscope-1.

2116CE

Explorer probe 1013 detects Exso radiation entering its system and is able to take pictures of a ship silhouette. A fleet of 50 Defender class ships is dispatched. They find the alien vessel drifting through space with holes in its seemingly organic hull. Robots controlled by one of the ships' AI explore the alien ship while its colleagues monitor it.

One intact egg is found inside the alien ship. It is moved to a research facility on New Gaia along with the ship.

After removing the egg from its evacuated transportation chamber, it hatches into an insectoid lifeform. It is capable of influencing the human body via a kind of telepathy to convey its intent. A puppet body is provided as a terminal it is allowed to use.

The creature calls its race the Rachni with itself being a queen, and is convinced that it is the last of its species. Apparently the Rachni were at war with another race, suspected to be the Batarians, and lost.

Batarians being generally aggressive and a threat to humanity is ascertained once again.

The Rachni queen is brought to a different planet in New Gaia's system with a thick and acidic atmosphere to rebuild her species. In return, she promises to help humanity unravel the still mysterious Exso technology, including what she knows about the Hell's Gates which are known to the galaxy as Mass Relays.

2118CE

Rachni-human interactions start in earnest with several thousand Rachni workers being sent to new Gaia and Earth.

2119CE

The first human made Exso FTL-drive is successfully tested. Efficiency wise the new drive is far behind the other ones, although with it being a prototype, this doesn't mean much.

From another perspective, humanity is changed by the new method of FTL-travel employed by their attackers. Formerly without a method to track the Batarians down, they would now be able use the Mass Relays to get their revenge.

2121CE

10% of all newborns possess Magic Circuits.

A way to create Exso by using magecraft is found.

2122CE

The space stations around earth are completed. They are the biggest structures ever built by man and offer self sufficient living space for a total of 10 million people.

Theirs outer hull is composed of 20 alternating layers of alchemically nanostructurized iron and carbon with a total thickness of 2 meters. Their main weapons consist of mass accelerator cannons capable of launching both simple metal slugs and more intricate ammunition at 0.5% the speed of light. In addition to that are thousand missile ports with large quantities of different ammunition stored as well plasma accelerators and anti-missile lasers.

The Gaian Union publishes a road map with the steps leading up to humanity's revenge against the Batarians. A first step is the total redesign of all ships based on knowledge supplied by the Rachni queen about expected enemy forces and firsthand information from the invasion.

2026CE

A network of defense satellites is deployed outside of the lunar orbit.

2028CE

Production of ships of new design stars in the orbit of Earth.

2029CE

The Rachni queen asks for Exso to build their own spaceships and spread to another planet. Request is granted by the Gaian Union and a list of suitable planets inside human frequented space is given to the Rachni.

2130CE

The population of New Gaia exceeds one billion with Avalon and Eden surpassing the 100 million mark.

2032CE

Exoskeletons with brain-computer-interfaces are established as standard for the Gaian Military. The BCS allows for extremely reduced reaction time along with 360° sight and direct connection of additional senses like thermoview or the tactical radar.

2034CE

Rachni can be found in most human cities, but are still quite rare and are thus often the center of attention. Their child-like curiosity and idiosyncratic behavior have led to them being accepted without much problems and spawned a movement of Rachni-lovers.

2136CE

A wide variation of infantry ammunition with mystical properties is introduced. Their uses are not only constricted to causing direct damage like conventional bullets as they can be used for a wide range of supportive action.

2142CE

16% of all newborns possess Magic Circuits.

2143CE

For the first time Rachni are included in the Gaian Military. Their close combat capabilities fit well with the human stance towards conquering the enemy shields. Additionally, the Rachni excel in the fast construction of fortifications which could prove important in an urban trench war.

2146CE

The minimum of the fleet size projected to be needed is surpassed. Production of further ships continues. Construction of the Deus Ex Machina starts.

2150CE

The first human ship travels through the Charon Relay.

* * *

"The world sure has changed..." the white haired man mumbled while putting the tablet in his hands down on the small table next to him.

"You on the other hand haven't changed one bit." a familiar voice changed by age cut in from the side.

"And you have gained a lot of wrinkles." was his sassy answer which forced him to jump from his lounging place on the couch to evade a small black ball of sickness launched in his direction.

A small laugh and a foreboding smile on her face the woman turned to her bodyguard who was now hiding behind the couch. "I didn't quite hear what you said, would you care to repeat it?"

His survival instincts told him to stop right now and grovel in front of this woman. But he had never listened to those in the first place and he wouldn't start now.

"That all those evil smiles were a bad idea with all the wrinkles they gave you."

He would suffer for that. That much was obvious. But then again, their relationship had always worked like this, and all pain she could inflict on his body was nothing against how his temporary release from his duties soothed his soul.

As expected, a vein on her forehead visibly bulged under the skin and he had to wonder for a moment, if he would give her stroke one of these days. Her arms found their way to a familiar crossed position with the metaphorical pressure gauge next to her pushing very far into the red section.

* * *

Those who passed by the door to the cabin of their guest could hear faint shouts through the metal door but refrained from looking into it. If it was something the Vice-Director couldn't handle, they would only be in the way after all.


End file.
